BLOOMBERG

Draghi Winning Greek Respite Shifts Focus to Inflation Battle

(Bloomberg) -- A respite in Greece's bailout talks allows Mario Draghi to return his attention to the region's dismal price outlook.

Reform proposals by the Greek government, which the European Central Bank president described as a "valid starting point," have freed the ECB from immediate concern over funding the country's banks. That will give the institution scope to elaborate on the details of a 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.3 billion) quantitative-easing program designed to stave off deflation.

Draghi, who will attend the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, is about to get data from Germany, Spain and Italy that will show a continued slump in consumer prices. The reports are a preamble to region-wide figures on Monday forecast to show prices falling at a near-record pace and new ECB projections due next week after a Governing Council meeting in Cyprus.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/draghi-winning-greek-respite-shifts-focus-to-inflation-battle

REUTERS

Brent inches up toward $59 on Fed flexibility, China factory growth

(Reuters) - Brent crude edged up toward $59 a barrel on Wednesday, helped by better-than-expected Chinese factory activity data, the Federal Reserve's flexible stance on U.S. interest rates and the euro zone's approval of reforms proposed byGreece.

But U.S. crude was weaker after settling lower for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday on the back of a bigger-than- anticipated crude stock build-up.

Brent had climbed 11 cents to $58.77 a barrel by 0751 GMT (2.51 a.m. EST), while U.S. crude futures fell 17 cents to $49.11 a barrel.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/25/us-markets-oil-idUSKBN0LT08620150225

REUTERS

Germany's Schaeuble: credibility of new Greek plan still in doubt

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday it had not been an easy decision for euro zone finance ministers to extend the Greek rescue plan by four months and much doubt remained about how credible Athens' latest reform commitments really were.

"It wasn't easy an easy decision for us but neither was it easy for the Greek government because (they) had told the people something completely different in the campaign and afterwards," the German finance minister told SWR2 radio in an interview.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/25/eurozone-greece-schaeuble-idUSB4N0PT01I20150225